Improvement in snow-plows



Nrrnn STATES RILEY A. SHINN, OF GEORGETOWN, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.

IMPROVEMENT IN SNOW-FLOWS.

Specification forming part cf Letters Patent No. 146,785, dated January27, 1874; applicaion filed February 17, 1873.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, RILEY A. SHINN, of Georgetown, in the county ofWashington and District of Columbia, have invented a new and usefulImprovement in Removing Snow-Drifts on Railways, of which the followingis a specification:

This invention consists of a ram for application to a locomotive, soconstructed as to utilize the 4exhaust steam from the engines andescaping caloric from the furnace, for the purpose of tunneling`snow-drifts, in such manner that should the drift be even deeper thanthe height of the locomotive, the passage formed by it would freelyadmit any other part of the train.

I will now describe its construction and operation by reference to thedrawings, in which- Figure l represents a side elevation of alocomotiveengine with my snow-ram attached.

` Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the snow'ram, showing thereversely-inclined passages for the delivery of the water ofcondensation. Fig. 3 is a transverse vertical section taken on the linex .c on Fig. 2.

Similar letters of reference indicate like parts in the several figures.

The pilot or tunneling attachment A is formed to serve as a fender orcow-catcher under ordinary circumstances, and is so con` applied may bedischarged, either in heated vapor or water of condensation, on the lineof the tracks, to remove .any snow that may not have been displaced, orthat may have fallen back thereon. This heated surface, en-

\ tering a snow-drift, may not only cleave its wa y, but convert theinner surface of the bore from snow to water, which, from its surroundings and in severe climates, may be immediately congealed and form an icylining or wall to the tunnel thus formed. The ribs on the outer surfaceof the plow, being in the form of gutters, serve to conduct a portion ofthe water resultingfrom the melting of the snow` rearwardly into asuitable receiver, whence it may be pumped, by any suitable apparatus,into the tender for the supply of the boiler, t0 at least compensate forthe extra amount of evaporation required for melting the snow, when thewater-stations on the road are far apart. The apparatus I have devisedto accomplish this result consists of the attachment A to alocomotive-engine, constructed, somewhat in the form of a snow-plow, ofboiler-iron, having a steam or heating space, b, between its inner andouter plates B B. This plow may, if necessary, contain an independentfurnace, C, by which the exhaust steam may be superheated, or asteam-generator, D, may be inserted inside of said attachment A; but itis believed that the exhaust steam from the engines of the locomotiveand caloric from the furnace, if properly directed and economized, willbe all-sufficient. This pilot or tunneling plow I propose to constructofdimensions equal in height to that of the smoke-stack of thelocomotive, and in its greatest breadth to that of any car that has tofollow in its wake. This attachment extending to the level of the top ofthe smoke-stack, the draft of the furnace in tunneling deep drifts wouldbestopped `by the snow-arch above thestack. To obviate this A difficultyl construct a flue, E, extending the whole length of the locomotive anddischarging at its rear, the smoke-stack being provided with a vent, c,in its rear side, opening into said p flue E, so that when the top ofthe stack might be closed by snow above the smoke will pass off throughsaid flue; and in order to increase the draft, I provide for injectingsteam into the flue E, as at D. Within the center portion ofthe plow maybe also arranged a heater, G, by

y which the exhaust steam from the engines may be superheated beforeentering the space b in the double jacket. This space bis constructedwith a series of inclined planes,as represented in Fig. 2, down whichthe water of condensation passes, and is finally dischargedwith theuncondensed steam onto the rails immediately in front of the wheels ofthe locomotive. 1n order to protect the running-gear of the trainagainst the possibility of snow falling back on the track, I furnisheach car with a fender, H, extending from end to end, and nearly downto'the roadway outside of the wheels. I am aware that heated noses, inthe form of a eoweatoher or fender, lhave been heretofore A, allarranged substantially as and. for the used. These, therefore, I do notclaim; but

That is here claimed, and desired to be secured by Letters Patent, is-

l. A heated ram, arranged to envelop the entire front end of thelocomotive, including the smokestaek, and constructed for operationSubstantially as shown and described.

2. The combination of the horizontal Hue E with the smoke-stack,steam-escape D, and ram purpose Specified.

o. The exterior ribs or gutters on the snowploW, arranged to conduct theWater of the Vmelted snow into a suitable receiver for the SYDNEY E.SMITH, XV. MORRIS SMITH.

